Question:
Writing Help! I have got this coursework assignment and I don’t know where to start.I’ve got to write a story but it’s got to have lots of description in it. How do I do it?
Answer:
Writing to describe is easy once you get the hang of it. Think about what you’re describing – like a place or a person – and picture it in your mind. If you’re good at drawing, you might like to draw a quick sketch.
Then, you need to use adjectives. Adjectives are words that describe.
If you use adjectives well enough, your reader will be able to visualise what you have imagined.
To have a good description, mention some or most of these:
- Size
- Shape
- Colour
- Smell
- Texture
- Sound
(It’s not sensible to use all of them.)
You could have:
The enormous silver fish spread its fluorescent tail high into the air and splashed it down heavily as it swam along the cool, clear sea which whispered an echo of the movement.
Or
The church, dark and empty, seemed to be forever in eerie silence and the smell of a carcass, rotting in the corner, repulsed the stranger away from its rough walls and crumbling brick work.
Here are some guidelines for what to put in each paragraph – and if you write more than a paragraph for each point, you must write with enough detail!
- Describe a scary place. Mention what you see, hear and think.
- Describe an unusual person coming into the scene.
- Narrate your interaction with this character – or do you run away?
- Make a choice – For example, of where to go.
- Describe your journey.
- End up at a strange place.
- The strange person appears again. More interaction.
- Some kind of change or learning happens.
- Somebody dies or is dead/killed; or you escape from this stranger – or he escapes from you.
Remember to plan the rest of your story.
About Sara Connerton